Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations

Mira Jacob is the writer and protagonist of her memoir, Good Talk, which chronicles her life between 1968 and 2017. Mira is a strong-willed, compassionate, and intelligent woman. Her parents immigrated to America in 1968 from India, making Mira an East Indian American. She depicts herself with long dark hair, dark skin, and a shy but reliable smile. She takes pride in her heritage but finds her life in America is largely shaped by her skin color, and many people either judge or fetishize her for it. Mira is a lifelong writer and illustrator, who started her journey in writing in elementary school, where she was encouraged from an early age to pursue her talent by her teacher. Her parents see it as more of a hobby, but Mira is passionate about writing and makes a career out of it, earning a Master of Fine Arts in the process. Like the rest of her family, Mira has a strong sense of humor and tries to remain on the lighter side of life when she can, but she takes the political issues faced by people of color seriously.